Zaius (APJ)
Zaius was an orangutan statesman who lived in the East Coast Ape City during the latter half of the 40th century. He was a leading member of the Ape National Assembly, and served a dual role in Ape society, as Minister of Science in charge of advancing ape knowledge, and also as Chief Defender of the Faith. He saw no contradiction between his two roles but in the end he chose to emphasise the blind faith of the ape religion and traditions over the scientific suggestions of the chimpanzees, preferring a stagnant, imperfect, faith-based ape culture that kept humans in check, to the open, scientific, human-curious one proposed by Cornelius and Zira's generation. An ape of renowned piety, Zaius believed that the tenets of religion, and the theories of science worked interchangeably with one another without compromise. He was often found quoting from the Articles of Faith as set down by the Lawgiver, and documented in the Sacred Scrolls. Zaius was quick to point out that those who sought to counter sacred scripture were committing acts of scientific heresy – a crime that yielded severe consequences. For all of his bluster however, Zaius was the keeper of a great secret. He was one of the few apes who knew the true origins of simian culture, as well as that of humans. While the Sacred Scrolls established the edict that apes evolved from man, Zaius knew that apes were once in fact subservient to man, and that humanity had created a "paradise" for themselves and destroyed it as well. Zaius knew what humans had once been and for fear of humans ever becoming strong enough to threaten the world again, he was determined that the great secret should stay just that, while the idea of an intelligent human (such as Taylor) threatening the balance of things frightened him deeply. Knowing the destruction that humanity (with the aid of technology) caused in its downfall, he didn't want even the possibility of a human resurgence. To end any doubts planted in the minds of apes and humans, Taylor had to be killed. At the end of Planet of the Apes, ambushed and held hostage by Taylor, Zaius agreed to let him go if he never returned to Ape City. However, Zaius then had Cornelius's archaeological findings (human artifacts, predating the Ape society) destroyed, and Cornelius and Zira arrested on heresy charges. By Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius recalled how Zaius brought them to trial, but then moved for clemency on their behalf. When Zaius, haunted by the experience with Taylor, supported gorilla General Ursus in his crusade into the Forbidden Zone to wipe out the last remnants of mankind and claim the area for ape colonisation, he trusted Cornelius and Zira to continue his work. (In the novelization of Beneath, they instead began a revolt, once the gorilla army was gone.) Zaius met Taylor once more, in a showdown between the gorillas and a mutant human race living underground in the Zone. Taylor was trying to keep the mutant humans from activating a doomsday bomb, and was shot several times in the process by gorilla troops. Wounded and dying, Taylor begged Zaius to help him stop the bomb; when Zaius refused (declaring "Man is evil - capable of nothing but destruction!"), Taylor deliberately activated the bomb in his last moments, ironically realizing Zaius's worst fears, as the Earth was destroyed. During Escape from the Planet of the Apes, Cornelius related how he learned the truth about humans and apes from reading secret scrolls. Cornelius presumably had access to these while working for Dr. Zaius (or after his departure), or perhaps was granted access by Zaius as a consolation for the loss of his archaeological work. Zaius had more of his backstory explored in Malibu Graphics' Planet of the Apes: Sins Of The Father, in which the truth about man's heritage was revealed to a young Zaius by his father Dr Augustus, Minister of Science; while in Within The Planet Of The Apes Zaius had to prevent Dr Garvon from revealing that secret to ape society. In UbiSoft/Fox Interactive’s 'Planet Of The Apes' GameBoy, Dr Zaius asks astronaut Ben to return to the undergrouund mutant city to disarm the doomsday bomb they plan to use. Notes * Zaius was based on the character Mi Zaïus from the original novel, La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. * See also: Zaius for a complete list of other articles that share this name. * This version of Dr. Zaius is exclusive to the continuity of the Arthur P. Jacobs films and their adaptations. * The role of Dr. Zaius was originally to be played by Edward G. Robinson, and indeed he portrayed Zaius in the 1966 screen-test alongside Charlton Heston, Linda Harrison and James Brolin. With two big name actors to attract investors, the test showed the more advanced ape society of Boulle's book but this proved unworkable. Robinson backed out around April 1967, weeks before filming began, when he realised he would be unable to endure the make-up process every day. His place was taken by Maurice Evans who created arguably the most iconic of the characters from the Apes series. * Apprentice makeup artist Ken Chase was assigned to transform Maurice Evans into Dr. Zaius.'Makeup Magazine - John Chambers Tribute' (1997) Trivia * A humorous version of Dr. Zaius was featured in the 7th season episode of The Simpsons entitled, "A Fish Called Selma". Zaius was one of many pastiche characters who appeared in a musical stage production of Planet of the Apes. A Dr. Zaius tribute song featured in the episode is sung to the tune of "Rock Me Amadeus" by pop-star Falco. * The March, 1973 edition of Mad Magazine lampooned the Planet of the Apes franchise in issue #157. The character Dr. Zaius was re-named Dr. Zaydius. * In Reality Bites, TV producer Michael Grates (Ben Stiller) keeps a statuette of Dr. Zaius in his office, which Lelaina (Winona Ryder) damages during a visit. * In the Seinfeld episode "The Reverse Peephole", as Elaine and Puddy (who is wearing a large fur coat) enter Joe Mayo's apartment, Elaine introduces Puddy with the words "I think you know Dr. Zaius." She later throws the coat out a window saying, "Goodbye, Dr. Zaius." * The engineering security network at Boston University is named Zaius after Dr. Zaius. The Zaius security system is the "defender of all things engineering." * In the 1997 cult classic Rocketman, astronaut Fred Z. Randall refers affectionately to Ulysses, the chimpanzee who accompanies the crew to Mars, as "Little Doctor Zaius." * In a segment of the February 14, 2008 episode of Late Show with David Letterman, Lyle the Intern says to David Letterman, "Your loss, Dr. Zaius." Appearances * Planet of the Apes * Beneath the Planet of the Apes * Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Comic Book) * Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Novelization) * Planet of the Apes (Power Records) * Beneath the Planet of the Apes (Power Records) * Planet of the Apes Magazine: Planet of the Apes (beginning with issue #2) * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes: Planet of the Apes (beginning with issue #2) * Planet of the Apes Magazine: Beneath the Planet of the Apes * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes: Beneath the Planet of the Apes * Planet of the Apes: Sins Of The Father * UbiSoft/Fox Interactive’s 'Planet Of The Apes' GameBoy * Neil Foster & Michael Whitty's Within The Planet Of The Apes * Planet of the Apes (MR Comics): People News * Planet of the Apes (MR Comics): Catch A Falling External Links * Dr. Zaius article at Wikipedia References ]] , Michael Esposito & George Roussos]] ]] & Bernie Mireault]] ---- Category:APJ Characters Category:Marvel Characters Category:Orangutans Category:Deceased Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Malibu Characters